Learner Tien finds “second gear” to save two match points vs. Davidovich Fokina in Indian Wells

Learner Tien had to battle from behind for the majority of his fourth round at the 2026 BNP Paribas Open, rallying from a set down and saving two match points to defeat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4).

The win makes him the youngest U.S. man to make an Indian Wells quarterfinal since none other than his coach Michael Chang in 1992—the year he went on to win the title.

Tien lost his previous match against the Spaniard last summer at the Mubadala Citi DC Open—also on hard courts—and revealed a combination of physical and mental fatigue contributed to his slow start.

Speaking after the match, the 20-year-old discussed the importance of “hanging around” long enough to find that crucial “second gear”:

Q. It sounds very easy when you say, Oh, then I was able to pick it up. Is there something that just happens, you get a feeling, Okay, I'm rolling now, or is there something you can actively do to provoke that?

LEARNER TIEN: I mean, if it was something that I was always able to flip a switch, I wouldn't have come out maybe so flat. But I think just trying to hang around and give myself a shot, give myself time to maybe find that second gear, I think is always important.

I mean, if you're down a set and double break, by the time you kind of find yourself, I mean, it won't really make a difference.

So I think I just did a good job of hanging around. Don't really know what it was today. Just throughout the day during my warm-up, just felt a little bit shot. I feel like just mentally I was in and out, spacing out a little bit, didn't really feel, like, fully there during the match.

Just felt like, for the first half of the match, I felt just a little down energy-wise, and my thoughts were just kind of everywhere.

Don't know how I really managed to get it together, but happy I did

Along with good friend Alex Michelsen, Tien, who started the season with a run to the Australian Open quarterfinals, is one of two SoCal youngsters making noise in the BNP Paribas Open men’s draw.

Into his first Masters 1000 quarterfinal, he guarantees another popcorn match as he awaits the winner of the Round of 16 clash between No. 2 seed Jannik Sinner and Joao Fonseca.